Investors have shown plenty of anxiety lately due to events in China, Greece, and elsewhere. In response, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEX:INDU) has fallen over 2000 points or 11% from its year-to-date high of 18,310 set just over 3 months ago. With this shakeout, investors are looking for safe stocks to invest in. F5 Networks (NASDAQ::FFIV) is one of those stocks.

The company is enjoying stable growth even as other companies are slowing down. In 2014, the company saw a 16% increase in revenue and a 12% increase in earnings on a YoY basis. That's above the previous YoY revenue growth of 8% and 0.07% increase in earnings. They are on track to achieve higher growth rates this year than in 2014.

The company beat analyst expectations in Q3 2015. EPS came in at at $1.67, $0.07 better than analysts had predicted. Net revenues increased 8% YoY for products and 17% YoY for services. Sales for both products and services has been steadily growing from year-to-year. Gross margins also improved slightly. Analysts expect further improvement in sales and margins.

Although priced at a similar multiple to one of its main competitors, Citrix Systems (NASDAQ: CTXS), F5 Networks has much better margins and return on equity as shown below.

F5 NetworksCitrix Systems

Forward P/E Ratio 16.36 16.94

Profit Margin 19.22% 8.68%

Operating Margin 29.36% 14.39%

Return on Equity 26.54% 12.70%

(data provided by Yahoo Finance)

Stock Price has Support

After the recent downturn, F5 Ntworks stock is now trading around $120/share (Sep 9 closing price), down from YTD highs of $134/share on July 31. The stock has fallen 11% off highs, the same percentage as the Dow. So far the stock price is holding above the support area of $115 set in July. The stock did dip briefly down to $112.43 on August 24 but quickly shot back up the same day. Since then it has remained above $117.50.

Partnership with Amazon

F5 recently partnered with Amazon Web Services to offer services for their new software. This will increase the company's exposure to customers for its hybrid platform of services. This is a smart move that will provide long-term returns for the company.

Recommendation

Although F5 Networks stock price dropped as much as other stocks, generally speaking, few other companies are growing as well as F5 Networks. The company has so far been immune to any slowdown in other parts of the economy. For that reason, as well as the technical and fundamental reasons discussed above, F5 Networks stock deserves a long-term buy recommendation.

In the case of further selling pressure in the market, F5 Networks stock will be able to weather the storm better than most other companies. It will hold its stock price better and recover faster than other companies who aren't showing the same growth in their financials. In this market, it's hard to find a better stock than F5 Networks.

F5 Networks Stock Articles & Video

Keith Coleman is the 4th VP of Product since 2013. Can he do what other have failed to do?Engagement levels will only increase meaningfully on Twitter if the company can add more value by means of higher quality live eventsTechnically the stock is under pressure to hold its 200 day moving average which is worrying

Canaccord Genuity’s Michael Graham sees user growth and engagement improving in Q4. SoftBank's plan to invest in the US, and a Forbes article seem to have fueled buyout speculation. If you own, or plan to own TWTR shares though, a deeper look may be warranted.

Twitter CFO Anthony Noto is replacing outgoing COO Adam Bain. Twitter is now bringing in Keith Coleman as product head, its third change in the role this year. All these changes could be hurting investors in less visible ways.

AMD stock shot up by over 8% on Thursday on the back of a double upgrade by BoA. AMD stock is now up by nearly 50% over the last 30 days. Technical indicators suggest that AMD stock is entering overbought territory. But is it really?Shares of Sunnyvale, California-based

Micron has introduced new Enterprise SSD which enables data storage platforms to meet all the demands for the data centers. SSDs have significant advantages over the traditional hard disk drive, while the cost difference is decreasing. The transition to all flash data center will benefit Micron which will see higher demand for its products and could drive its stock.

The views expressed in the article are of individual authors and are not necessarily supported by Amigobulls.We do not hold any stake in the aforesaid stocks. Please read our detailed disclaimer.

Amigobulls Disclosures & Disclaimers:

This post has been submitted by an independent external contributor. This author may or may not hold any positions in the stocks discussed. Neither Amigobulls, nor any members of its staff hold positions in any of the stocks discussed in this post. Amigobulls has not verified the author’s positions in the stocks discussed, and does not provide any guarantees in this regard. The author may be paid by Amigobulls for this contribution, under the paid contributors program. However, Amigobulls does not guarantee the authenticity or accuracy of the information provided by the author in this post.

The author may not be a qualified investment advisor. The opinions stated in the post should not be treated as investment advice. Buying and selling of securities carries the risk of monetary losses. Readers/Viewers are advised to carry out their own due diligence and consult their investment advisors before making any investment decisions.

Amigobulls does not have any business relationship with any of the companies covered in this post. This post represents the views of the author/contributor and may not reflect the views of Amigobulls.

Join Us On

Get Amigobulls On

Copyright2014 amigobulls.com

Historical, current end-of-day data, and company fundamental data provided by Zacks.
All information provided "as is" for informational purposes only, not intended for trading purposes or advice.
Neither Amigobulls nor any of the data providers is liable for any informational errors, incompleteness, or delays, or for any actions taken in reliance on information contained herein. By accessing the amigobulls.com, you agree not to redistribute the information found therein.
Please read our terms of use and privacy policy.